Sleeping Angels

Chapter II – Introductions

Lucrecia squinted in the midday sun. It was the first time she had been outside in a long time. Her muscles were coming alive again and walking was much easier. She followed Cloud, Tifa and Nanaki through the town. Her town. Nothing about it had changed. She stopped for a second to look around. Cloud stopped and turned.

"I thought you said Sephiroth destroyed this place."

Cloud and Tifa glanced at each other. Tifa nodded.

"He did. We both saw it. I don't know what's going on anymore."

"Maybe this people have something to do with it." Lucrecia gestured at a group of men dressed in black capes. They were all huddled together and whispering. She stepped closer to hear what they were saying.

"Re-uni-on. Must foll-ow Seph-ir-oth."

"Reunion?" As she said it a strange feeling passed over her body. She felt something calling to her, something dark and evil.

"No!" she cried, "I won't go. Nooo!"

Lucrecia crumpled to the floor.

"Sephiroth!" She ran after the man in black faster and faster but she could never catch up. She kept calling to him.

"Wait, Sephiroth!"

He turned about to speak when she saw him carrying a woman's head in his hand.

"Mother?"

The head came alive.

"I am your mother Sephiroth. I am Jenova."

"No!" Lucrecia called out to the darkness. Sephiroth was gone.

"Lucrecia! Wake up."

She opened her dark green eyes to see Cloud leaning over her.

"You were dreaming again."

"Where am I?"

"This is the Highwind, a giant airship. You fainted in Nibelheim, do you remember?"

Lucrecia sat up. Her eyes were full of pain and worry. She tried to get out of bed but Cloud held her shoulders down.

"Sephiroth…I must go to him. He needs me!" She tried to fight Cloud but she had no energy. Whatever happened in Nibelheim had sapped a great deal of her strength. She stopped resisting. She lay back down.

"Let me sleep."

Cloud walked up onto the deck of the Highwind. Tifa stepped up to him.

"Is she alright?"

Cloud shrugged and rubbed his hand on the back of his head.

"I think so. She was dreaming again."

Cid looked up from where he was tinkering with the control panel.

"You talking about our new visitor?"

"Yeah man what's up with her?" Barret stepped forward. Everyone began to crowd around Cloud and Tifa.

"All I know is that she used to be with the Shinra."

Cait Sith nodded his head.

"Yeah, she's on our record. She was a member of the Science Dept when they were workin' on the Jenova Project."

Nanaki spoke next.

"She said she was working with Hojo."

"Yeah that's what the records show. But…"

Cloud sighed. This entire journey was made up of buts and as wells. He was losing track of it all. He still didn't understand himself. He had decided not to tell the others about Lucrecia's connection with Sephiroth. There was something about her. He felt a connection with her. He didn't want to tell anyone that either.

"Cloud? Cloud, are you listening? Look here she comes now."

Lucrecia walked up to the small group of people. She was afraid of them. They were after her child. She wasn't going to tell them she was Sephiroth's mother, not yet.

"Hello. I'm Lucrecia. It's nice to meet you all."

They all stared at her. She flinched under their gaze. Tifa broke the silence.

"Hi! Did you sleep OK?"

Lucrecia nodded. She had showered and her hair was thicker and lighter. Colour was beginning to return to her pale face. Even so, she looked very frail. Everyone saw this and they softened a little.

"Let me introduce you to everybody." Tifa pointed to a tall, muscular man with a gun where his right hand should have been.

"This is Barret of AVALANCHE. He may look scary but he's really a big softie." Tifa leant closer to Lucrecia and whispered in her ear.

"Especially in his sailor outfit." Lucrecia and Tifa looked at each other and laughed.

"I'm Cid. And this here is my airship. Beautiful, ain't she?" A man held out his hand to her. He was puffing on a cigarette.

"I remember when they were first talking about this. It's a lovely piece of machinery."

"Cait Sith." A little cat sat on a huge mog stood before her. "Otherwise known as Reeve, head of Urban Development at Shinra" Lucrecia held her breath for a second. If this man had access to her files all would be lost. Looking at the way everyone reacted to her, they didn't know. She relaxed.

"Last but not least we have…" Tifa looked around "Where'd she go?"

"I'm here." A young girl came up the steps to the deck. "I looked in her room but I couldn't find any materia at all." She pouted. Lucrecia turned to face her.

"And you are…"

The girl looked up open-mouthed.

"So you're our new friend. I was just…ummm…Hi I'm Yuffie. I would stay and chat but…Bye!"

Yuffie ran fast as she could back below deck.

"So Lucrecia, do you have any weapons, materia, stuff like that?" Cloud's intense Mako eyes were bearing down upon her. She returned his gaze, falling into the pit of blue. Her dark eyes were pulling him in and he could not pull away. Tifa frowned slightly and waved a hand in front of Cloud's face.

"Jenova." His voice seemed far away as if it was an inner part of him that called to her.

"Reunion." Her voice sounded the same. They kept on staring at each other muttering Jenova's name.

"He's off again. Goddammit Cloud, snap out of it." Barret clunked Cloud round the head with his gun-arm. Cloud blinked in surprise, breaking the spell.

"What happened? Where am I? Lucrecia!" Cloud screamed to her as she fell to the floor again.